Reviews by CoolJosh:

1L Swing cap bottle, courtesy of Gford270. Poured into a pint glass. The appearance is awesome, this looks like a great RIS. Pitch black body with no visibility through and a nice lighter khaki with some spotty lacing.

The smell is very disappointing in and that it is very light. Very smokey and roasted malt scents. Some toasted chocolate and a semi salty scent. It just doesn't pop you in the nose like a good RIS normally does.

The taste is on par with the scent. Sort of bland, very light and very roasted. Actually very very roasted. A slight bitter chocolate taste develops from the roasts. Unfortunately there is no malt sweetness to this beer, which causes a lack of flavor and creates a one dimensional take on the style. Not impressed. (749 characters)

Sweet fruit hop like sense and a bit of malt char. Hints towards a sweetened plum and cherry but moves to enough roast to bring some real charring character along with it. Comes off with a bit of fleshy tone as well, almost juiced. Light hints of smoke as well, real nice.

A real interesting palate. Hits with classic charring and roast, big and classic to imperial stout with thick roast body. Finish is really impressive, wonderful notes of penny candy and sweetness. Hits with lots of fruit and a big dry licorice notes that come throughout the body. Simple bodied, with a nice almost cascadian dark fruit quality that really coats with some oily sheen. The sweetness comes with some real unexpected character, peppermint, white sugar with a good controlled juiced hop bitterness of wood and spice.

This is a real neat Imperial stout, very impressive. Not wizz bang bowl you over, but very memorable. (1,217 characters)

Pours a pitch black color with a 1 inch khaki head made up of tiny bubbles. Good rings of lace on the drink down. Smells of bittersweet chocolate, roasted coffee, and herbal hops. Tastes of bittersweet chocolate, roasted coffee, with very minor hop essence. There is a bit of an acidic/tangy flavor on the tongue after each sip. A tiny bit of alcohol burn in the throat. Mouthfeel is very carbonated with a prickly sensation in the throat after each swallow. A little too much carbonation for this beer style. Overall, this is a pretty good stout that suffers a little from the acidic/tangy taste and the over carbonation. (666 characters)

S - Surprising amount of citrus, floral, and dank earthy hop notes. There's also some chocolate, Whopper's malt balls, and a hint of umami and soy that I don't totally enjoy. The smell is quite potent, and while busy it actually works surprisingly well.

T - Starts with the sweet citrus hoppiness then quickly morphs into bittersweet chocolate and burnt malt/espresso bitterness at the back end. Again, it's pretty good and I do like the dry-hopping, but it's not mind-blowing.

M - Medium bodied, almost porter viscosity. Very creamy, but with moderate carbonation that has just the right amount of tingle to it. Lots of residual stickiness. It should probably be a little denser.

D - It didn't take me long to down 12oz of this one. The aftertaste has only mild bitterness, moderate carbonation, and the texture lends itself to bigger sips. There's something intangible that just made this brew easy to drink.

Sweetwater in my mind is a very underrated brewery maybe because its in the south and doesnt have the largest ditribution area?I dont know.This brew poured into a standard pint glass a jet black with a nice tight formed dark mocha colored head that left broken lace behind as it settled pretty quickly.Awesome aromas very fruity with notes of bitter chocolate,coffee,and some wood underneath,it seems to go downhill from there a little.Really thin for a RIS in my mind no chewey big mouthfeel here it glides down effortlessly wich is good for alot of beers but in my opinion not this style,flavors have alot of RIS qualities but are muted a little.Dark roast coffee and bitter chocolate are there with some dark fruit but its not real firm,one thing I like is a nice leafy hop profile in the finish wich was the high water mark for me.Man it started out great but just didnt have the goods to be stellar,all in all decent. (922 characters)

S: First thing that hits me is the hops. Earthy, dank and spicy. Then it's milky toffee and powdered chocolate.

T: The flavors develop as dark and bitter chocolate with a huge dose of the dank hops noted in the aroma. Coffee comes in to play in the finish. I like the way the flavors play off the bouquet.

M: Way too thin for the thick syrupy pour I got. Meek carbonation and a skinny body.

D: Excellent. No sign of the 9% ABV. This beer is downright quaffable.

Overall: Sweetwater entices me with this my first glimpse at their offerings. The amazing hop flavor on this beer is by far its best feature. Pleasantly strong in the nose, the hops bring a subdued bitterness and pack a huge punch in the flavor department. Apparently some people are turned off by this in their RIS's, but I'd call it pretty friggin' awesome in this one! (900 characters)

Thanks to boonecal for bringing this back from Atlanta for me. I shared this with zoso1967 and BuckyFresh on 2/5/11 while we were brewing up some tasty beer of our own.

Happy Ending pours very dark brown, as close to black as possible, with a medium mocha-cream one-finger head into a snifter. The lacing is quite nice, with fine, splashy, intricate patterns forming on the sides of my glass.

Holy citrus hops! This is by far the hoppiest Imperial Stout that I've smelled. I pick up plenty of sweet orange and lime mixed in with roasted malts, but really the sweet fruitiness dominates. I also can smell some darker fruit hints of cherry and plum in the bouquet. There are also some honey and toasty aromas hiding in there. This must have been dry-hopped like crazy to achieved that aroma. Very unique.

Roasted malt flavors balance out hops a lot better than in the smell. That roastiness actually dominates the taste, but the citrus and tropical fruit flavors still nudge their way into the profile. A little milk chocolate blends with the roasted malts and citrus, while the darker fruit flavors linger in the background.

The mouthfeel is light for the style, especially at the outset of each sip. It is not as bold and coating as I like from an Imperial Stout, but the feel is nicely roasty and biting from the malts and hops, though.

Happy Ending was enjoyably drinkable and very different from other Imperial Stouts that I have had. It was quite a bit hoppier, sweeter, and lighter. Frankly, it was a weird combination of qualities for the style, but I appreciate its originality. (1,594 characters)

Looks great with a 1 finger off white head. Smells pretty hoppy with lots of roast. Taste is more of the smoke and roasted coffee. A lot more than I was expecting. It has a medium mouthfeel with equal if not a little more carbonation. Overall, it was different than I was expecting, but I was a pleasant surprise. A nice, and unique take on the style. (385 characters)

Dark appearance dons a tan lacing that keeps dropping rings on the glass. The aroma is a mix of sweet floral hop victory and spice-laced burnt sugar. Thick, muscular malt body flexes and gives a smoothness to think about. Spicy hops tingle the taste buds as the roasty malt digs in with a burnt sugar and grilled bread flavor. Alcohol is no secret, nor does it want to be, with a growing warmth that pleases by providing some balance. Hop flavor engulfs all of this with layers of complexity that take a whole bottle to unfold in a timely fashion.

From start to finish, this beer shines--seriously a great brew with a drinkability that's uncommon in bigger beers. (722 characters)

Pours into my glass a deep, viscous black with a wisp of dark tan head that becomes a ring quickly. Spotty lacing on the glass and no light getting through. Aromas of deeply roasted, sweet malt alongside a intermingling of chocolate, coffee and vinous notes. Caramel hints as well as some fig and raisin accents. Mild smoke and nut with hops in the background.

First sip brings a bid roasted dark malt flavor upfront with a slight smoky edge. Chocolate, caramel and coffee intertwine with a touch of vinous fruit flavor as well. Flows down with some solid bitterness and a touch of hops. Mellow raisin accents round out this one. Not a bad imperial stout, but not one of my top picks either.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a rich deepness to it, sort of smooth as well. For an imperial stout this ends up going down rather easily. Overall, a tasty brew that I'm glad to have had the chance to sample, but won't go crazy seeking out again. (941 characters)

Just picked this up. It was nicely chilled by the time I got home since I have no heat in my truck at the moment...

Pours absolutely jet black. Expresso colored head on top, a quarter inch thick to start with and finished with a thin layer and a ring around the glass. Nice Belgian lace as I drink this one down.

Aroma is strong with hops, grapefruits and other citrus and a touch of pine sap. It almost overwhelms the aroma. A little dark chocolate and toffee underneath. I'm not usually a huge fan of overly hopped stouts, so we'll see how this one goes (although I've had it before...on tap though...this seems different).

Dark toasted malts come through with chocolate. The hops are pretty overwhelming again and the citrus and grapefruit finish this out after the swallow. The flavor is good, but there are a lot of American hops in this, although it isn't all that bitter, neither from hops or dark malts. I personally think the hops cover up a lot of the subtleties I remember when having this on tap. I'm knocking this down a bit on the flavor. While I know its not supposed to be exactly to the RIS style, this seems too much like drinking a pale ale or something. The toasted parts of this beer just fail to come through. I'm a hophead, but not in my stouts please, unless its subtle.

Mouthfeel is medium to full, slightly oily actually. Not creamy like some stouts. Low carbonation is right for the style. Flavor coats the mouth okay but this one washes away fairly quickly.

Good drinkability. No alcohol hints at all...none. This one goes down super easy though, really smooth. I have a feeling that given some time this beer will really stand out. I know there are some good toasted notes in this one, they just can't come out yet. (1,759 characters)

Black like night with a dark brown head, it levelly laces my Sweetwater pint glass. Hops leaving lacing with a color as dark as the pitch, only the froth's dissipation before I pull this up presents a problem.

The aroma is malty and hoppy. Sweet like candied balls and bitter like aspirin with a headache, things are looking better. It's a hop stout.

Bitter like the smell, hops dominate this freshly poured stout. It's reminiscent of GI Night Stalker as the hops pierce thru the stout in the making. Just as a chocolate glaze suitably complements a donut, this hop stout is balanced like a ballerina.

The hops really dance--a bittering dance--on the tongue, as malted sweetness coats the palate. It's a chocolate beer without going dessert. The aftertaste is lip-smacking good. After instinctively calling it "exceptional," I'm going with the 5!

It's neat enough--core principles of Sweetwater marketing at work here--that it's worth always having around for the unexpected beer advocate visit AND to enjoy with frequency. Unlike the greatest of stouts, however, I don't see considering two consecutive. It is, nonetheless, an impressive beverage. (1,155 characters)

Taste is cocoa, vanilla, sugar cane, and roasted malt. Beer falls on the sweeter side for the style. Would make a delicious dessert beer with the sugar cane being pronounced at times. One of my favorites from the brewery. (224 characters)